Jacob Bethell is set to return to the UK after the 22-year-old sustained an injury to his left ring finger while playing for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the ECB has confirmed.
The England all-rounder missed RCB’s IPL clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, with the ECB explaining that he “will be fully assessed and monitored by the England Men’s medical team on his return”.
His injury has cast doubt on whether Bethell will be fit to feature in England’s opening Test match of the summer against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 4, live on Sky Sports, with the ECB adding that doctors will look to “determine his availability for the upcoming Test.”
The ECB also confirmed the agreement for Bethell to return was made in agreement with RCB, but did not elaborate further on the specific nature of the injury.
RCB, who finished the regular IPL season at the top of the table, are a favourite to advance to this year’s final on Saturday May 31, just four days before England play New Zealand, and questions over scheduling had begun to emerge.
The 22-year-old’s last game for RCB came against Punjab Kings on May 17, with Bethell arriving at the crease to open the batting alongside Virat Kohli, but would ultimately be dismissed for 11 runs off seven deliveries. RCB would go on to win by 23 runs.
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Jacob Bethell responds to questions around his participation in the Indian Premier League while the county cricket season is ongoing
The all-rounder, who is believed to be on a £250,000 contract with RCB, has enjoyed a mixed season in the IPL, notably being dismissed for five against the Gujarat Titans last month, before being caught for four by Lucknow Super Giants’ Yadav Prince a week later.
Bethell had struggled for game time early on in the IPL season. The England No 3 batter was unused through RCB’s first six matches, with Sir Alaistair Cook urging the 22-year-old Warwickshire player to return home to play for his county.
“He’s not doing anything,” Cook said.
“Ideally, he could come back and open for Warwickshire to help England.”
Former England batter Kevin Pietersen hit back at Cook’s comments on X, writing: “Alastair Cook has absolutely NO IDEA what it’s like to be in the IPL. What it’s like to always be around the best players in the world.”
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Jacob Bethell takes the catch to dismiss Chennai Super Kings’ Jamie Overton (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
In response to Cook’s comments, Bethell told the Sky Cricket podcast: “I firmly believe that this is the thing for me to be doing right now.
“I feel better now than I was a month ago after the World Cup, just from getting time around the guys over here and the pure standard of cricket in India and the IPL.
“Every nets session, you’ve got hundreds of eyes on you, be it your coaches or the other players who are also looking at you, going, ‘Is this guy good? Is he not?’ You’ve got the people in the crowd with their phones on. You get exposed to a lot of stuff.”
Bethell: IPL made me a better cricketer
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Talking on the Sky Cricket Podcast Jacob Bethell says he’d ‘love to cement my place at three’ but would be happy to open for England if needed
During this winter’s Ashes, Bethell opened up on how playing in the IPL had improved him as a cricketer. It came after he replaced Ollie Pope in England’s starting eleven for the Boxing Day Test, before going on to score 154 runs during his second innings in the final Test at the SCG.
Bethell told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast: “Once you are selected for the IPL you are not allowed to be pulled back and that experience I had over those two months – I was a much better cricketer than when I arrived.
“Learning from Virat Kohli, [coach] Andy Flower and [team director] Mo Bobat. Even facing unbelievable net bowlers all the time. You have different conditions at every ground.
“I know I only played two games but the learnings I got from the cauldron of India and the IPL were priceless.
“You had 50,000 people in Bengaluru and it feels like 150,000. I am not going to say it felt the same, the MCG is obviously bigger, but I know what I am able to get out of myself in times like that. In a big occasion, I knew I could keep things the same.”
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